Gloomy Cave

Emperor's Tomb Village.

A crimson flash swept past, and Qi Sheng appeared before the underground Crystal Wall Containment Wall.

As he looked at the Bone Fire Monster Soul imprisoned in the fourth containment cell, the relevant information automatically surfaced in his mind:

[Inkflame]:

Origin Source ability effect: Consume mental energy to release deathly flames that can be controlled by consciousness, inflicting continuous burn damage on the target (the damage depends on the user's mental strength).

Sacrificial Power produced: 10 per hour.

He raised his right hand, and a mass of dark flames formed in his palm.

After containing Bone Fire, the lost Di Zhao's Power reclaimed its fourth puzzle piece. His strength increased, and he gained the ability to control Inkflame.

Another piece of good news was that the players had already discovered a lost Domain Node.

If he could reclaim it, Emperor's Tomb Village would expand, and he would gain a new Domain ability.

Just then, the latest feedback from Guidance appeared in Qi Sheng's mind:

[Prompt: Obtained the offering "Valley Grass." Received 155.7 Sacrificial Power. Extracted 30% of the Sacrificial Power yield and paid the challenger 109 Sacrificial Power.]

"Not bad."

As the words left his mouth, crimson flames spread from his brow and engulfed his body.

After switching to Di Zhao Form, his gaze passed through the barriers of space and settled on the players exploring the cave.

Gloomy Cave.

Beyond the narrow entrance, the cave opened into a vast space.

The farther down they went, the larger it became, and several passages branched off ahead.

While exploring, the Youngster Group players unexpectedly came upon a rock wall embedded with countless crystals that shimmered with a faint purple light.

When they focused on the crystals, information analyzed by Guidance appeared in their minds:

[Name: Energy Stone]

Spiritual Ore level: 1

Description: A low-grade Spiritual Ore rich in refined energy. Can be used for Sacrifice, vehicle construction, and other consumable uses.

Black Ball: Hahaha, this place is great. We've found more spiritual resources.

Cute Kid: Let's get to work. Time to mine!

Drunk Milk: The problem is, how are we supposed to mine?

When they prepared to start chipping the crystals out of the rock wall, they ran into a problem.

The rock wall was hard, and mining the Energy Stones wouldn't be easy. They didn't have any tools on hand.

[The shop section of the Function Panel has mining equipment. You can spend Sacrificial Power to buy it.]

After hearing Guidance's prompt, the Youngster Group players summoned their Function Panels. They entered "mining equipment" in the search bar on the shop page, and three items appeared:

[Pickaxe (Durability: 100)], [Crystal Breaker Pickaxe (Durability: 2000)], [Gravity Pickaxe (Unlimited)].

The three items cost 1, 100, and 1,000 Sacrificial Power, respectively.

They had killed quite a few Cursed Soldiers along the way, but each one yielded only 3–6 Sacrificial Power. They couldn't afford the second-tier pickaxe, so they had no choice but to pick the ordinary one that cost 1 Sacrificial Power.

Once the purchase was complete, a pitch-black Pickaxe appeared in a slot in their space inventory.

Just as the players were getting ready to start mining, they saw Iron Hammer, who was at the front of the group, take a peculiar pickaxe from his space inventory.

The pickaxe was crystalline blue all over. When he took it out, it looked like a Star had fallen to earth. Its faint blue glow stood out brilliantly against the dim light in the mine, and tiny, sparkling points seemed to flow along every groove on its surface.

The head had been carved into the shape of a sharp eagle's beak. Iron Hammer gripped it and gave it a swing, trailing a streak of Liu Guang.

Realizing that Iron Hammer had used the 109 Sacrificial Power he'd just received from the Sacrifice to buy the second-tier pickaxe, everyone gave him the middle finger.

Iron Hammer: Same as always. I bought the second-tier pickaxe, but we'll tally up the crystals we mine and split them evenly. I'm not keeping the whole haul for myself.

Hearing that, the others nodded in satisfaction.

Then the group set to work on the Crystal Wall. After a few strikes, they quickly realized something was wrong.

Black Ball: Damn, hitting the Crystal Wall with this Pickaxe hurts my hand. The feedback is way too realistic.

Marble: At least we've got resources to mine, so stop complaining and get to work. The game's just launched, and we're still in the early exploration phase. Gathering resources to improve our strength now will be a huge help to us in the future.

Drunk Milk: You're all so stupid. Our base forms have no stat bonuses. Switch to your monster forms and mining will be easy.

As he spoke, Drunk Milk immediately switched into his Black Armor Snake form, grabbed the Pickaxe in his mouth, and started whipping his head at the rock wall.

After a series of "clang, clang" blows, Drunk Milk suddenly stopped. He slowly turned to look at his dumbfounded buddies, spat out the Pickaxe, and said with a wounded expression:

"I'm dizzy. I feel sick."

His words made everyone burst out laughing, and they took turns Taunting Drunk Milk for his foolishness.

But when they looked over at Iron Hammer, their laughter died at once.

The Crystal Breaker Pickaxe in Iron Hammer's hands sank into the rock wall as easily as if it were cutting tofu. After just a few swings, he'd pried out a chunk of ore. Two Energy Stones already lay by his feet.

Seeing the others stop, Iron Hammer paused and turned to them with a shy smile.

"Are your hands shaking? I'm doing fine."

The group answered with a perfectly synchronized row of middle fingers.

After that interruption, they got back to work. The Youngster Group members tested the yield from sacrificing Energy Stones and found that each one produced 5–15 Sacrificial Power.

Compared to killing Cursed Soldiers, mining Energy Stones didn't grant Evolution Points (experience), but the Sacrificial Power yield was clearly much higher.

Just as they were putting their backs into chipping away at the Crystal Wall, a muffled sound came from the darkness.

Everyone stopped at once and looked toward the sound.

"Marble, use your perception."

"Got it!"

Marble, who had chosen the Eagle Head Demon form, immediately activated the Eagle Head Demon's Wailing ability.

The ability felt like an instinct imprinted in his mind. It required no practice, and using it was as easy as breathing.

He opened his mouth and let out a long call. Waves of sound spread outward.

The area within dozens of meters appeared in his mind as a series of rippling images, and he caught sight of a shape lurking in the darkness.

It was a life-form resembling a snail, its body covered in a white shell. Tentacles extended from the shell, their tips glowing with an eerie blue light like will-o'-the-wisps adrift in the deep sea.

[Iron Shell Bug]

Hunting level: 8

Target description: A low-level monster that lives underground. It has a hard shell and highly flexible tentacles, and feeds on underground spiritual ores.

After sharing the information with the group, everyone relaxed.

The sudden noise in the dim surroundings had given them quite a scare. But when they saw that it was only a monster with a hunting level of 8, they weren't worried anymore. They turned to switch into their monster forms, ready to take it down before returning to mining.

"Something's wrong. There are more Iron Shell Bugs behind it!"

In Marble's perception, more and more Iron Shell Bugs came into view.

Just then, the Iron Shell Bugs scattered to either side, and a two-meter-tall, pitch-black figure emerged from the darkness, stepping into the torchlight.

The figure had a humanoid body, with muscles sharply defined as if carved from stone. Its skin was grayish blue, and fine scales covered its arms. Sharp claws grew between its fingers.

[Dungeon Clan]

Hunting level: 19

Target description: A faction that lives in underground spaces and specializes in controlling subterranean creatures in battle. It possesses level 2 intelligence but has lost its free will under the control of some unknown force.

The Dungeon Clan creature looked up at them. When its gaze met the players', its pupils abruptly narrowed into slits.

All the Iron Shell Bugs raised their bodies, waving their tentacles before shooting toward the players.

"Let's get 'em!"

The Youngster Group members switched into their monster forms and charged at the Dungeon Clan creature without hesitation.

As players, the word "coward" wasn't in their dictionary.